Vaucluse Dreamer

After such a lovely, but wet day yesterday, we woke today to expect more of the same. But the rain had stopped and there were even a few scraps of blue sky, amongst the grey. But, it felt as if the season had changed on a sixpence.

It was chilly in the van, for the first time and we popped the heater on, just to warm it a little, before easing our way out of bed and into the day. Although it was only 6am, so I suppose it was still early.

By the time the 7.50am chimes started (just to let everyone know it was nearly time for the full ‘get-going’ music at 8), we’d eaten our breakfast, had packed up & were ready to drive on.

Last night, we’d decided to spend the day driving across to another of the big Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Sites on the Kii peninsula, at Hongu, where we would aim to spend the night before doing a walk around there and nearby Yunomine Onsen the day after. We do like to have a plan, even if they usually end up in the bin, as happened again today.

The day started with us taking the Ryujin Skyline Road, which I had looked at with a very fine toothcomb, after the tense drive we had up to the Tengu Highlands Skyline on Shikoku.

This time, it wasn’t a narrow single track road, but a full two-lanes, with lots of stopping areas too, and it proved to be a delightful drive, through the hills beyond Koya, and through the heart of the Kii Peninsula.

By just before 9, we had stopped at a viewpoint, where it felt as if the Peninsula was laid out before us, with stunning views across the mountains towards the bridge across to Shikoku, and Tokushima, where we had caught the ferry, a couple of days ago.

It was cold, bright and beautiful, with the autumn colours already seeming a little brighter after yesterday’s rain.

There was a marker post that highlighted the spot as one of the 100 best places to watch the sunrise and sunset in Wakayama, and I can imagine that it is.

We could have stayed there longer, but wanted to keep going, so pottered on again, along the beautifully empty, and wonderfully wide road. In many ways it was what we had imagined we would find on Shikoku, and it was our perfect place.

A little further on, we stopped again at the Ryujin Sky Tower, paying the 300 yen each (£1.50) to take the lift up to the viewing platform, high above the road. If we thought the views at our first stop were good, these were spectacular, with uninterrupted views back to Shikoku, across Osaka, to the north,  and deep into the forested mountains in the heart of the Peninsula.

You can Watch a video of the views from the Tower here

We noticed that there was a walking trail too, so after leaving the tower, we followed the well-made path that took us through peaceful woodland, climbing steps (yes, steps again)

to the summit of Mount Gomadanzan, the second highest mountain in Wakayama Prefecture at 1372m.

At the summit was a little observation point, and a sign explaining that in the 12th century, 2 samurai clans waged the epic Genpei War, which was won by the Genji clan. The defeated clan warrior, Koremori, fled to Ryujin where he performed a Buddhist Goma fire ritual for the fortunes of his clan, and it is from this that the mountain got its name.

We carried on, climbing again to the summit of Ryujindake, which at 1382m is the highest mountain in the Prefecture.

It was a delightful and easy walk, amongst the beautiful peace of the forest, with just birdsong for company, and set the slower pace for the day. It was also a much nicer temperature to walk in, although Andy’s shorts and woolly hat combo was a bit surreal. It may be chillier, but he’s not ready to give up his shorts quite yet.

After munching on a ‘Melon Bun’ for second breakfast, we continued on, stopping in Ryujin-Onsen for a trip to the little public bath, we had spotted there. After parking the van and walking across the truly terrifying, old and very wobbly & creaky suspension bridge, we found the bath and paid the 800 yen (£4) entrance fee

It was incredibly good, very quiet and with a selection of baths that weren’t too hot. It also felt as if the water was like a warm oil, as it was so smooth and silky, which must sound strange, but it felt so different.

When we left, I discovered that we had somehow stumbled into a truly historic Onsen that is said to be the third best Onsen in Japan for beautifying skin. All I can say, is that it felt wonderfully luxurious, even to my inexperienced mind, and it was such a lovely spot too.

By now, the Kii Peninsula was already getting under our skin, so over lunch, and a sit in our chairs, with our feet in the chilly mountain river, we had a bit of a rethink about our plans for the next few days.

The problem is, we are now in the last 2 weeks of this wonderful adventure, and it’s easy to start to think about heading back round, slowly towards Tokyo. But after the last 36 hours, we have decided we’d like to explore a bit more of this quiet, pretty and historic Peninsula, so scrapped our plan to head to Hongu today, and decided to head to the coast instead.

Perhaps we will be able to do another bike ride, along the coast tomorrow , but even if we can’t it will give us more time here and stop us thinking about the end of this incredible trip.

So tonight, we have stopped in the small seaside village of Susami, having arrived just in time to watch the sky turn to fire with this evening’s sunset.

We’re down by the quay, with a view across the water to the Tori Gate in the sea, just in front of the rocky island, with a picture postcard view across the harbour

We’ve taken a walk along the beach, said hello to the dogs being taken for their evening walks, and will now settle down for a quiet evening.

We’ll just wait and see what tomorrow brings. Who knows where we’ll be tomorrow night.